


Oppression

by topophilia



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Blonde Levi, Eren Yeager Has Heterochromia Iridum, M/M, Modern, Spy - Freeform, Tattooed Levi, boy/boy, ereri, riren - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-07-20
Updated: 2015-08-11
Packaged: 2018-04-10 05:21:57
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 9,515
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4378841
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/topophilia/pseuds/topophilia
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When Eren is kicked out of his ex-boyfriend's house, he goes on a desperate search for a job that might fit his 'flexibility'. Determined to find the real cause of his parents' death, Eren find the perfect job, as well as the perfect employer, that employer being Levi Ackerman. But is a crush really safe when both sides are putting their lives in danger everyday, and one side isn't exactly revealing the whole truth? The life of a spy is not all as glamorous as the critics make it out to be.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Homelessness

Eren knocked, firmly, three times consecutively on the pristine, black door that presented itself with two silver numbers across the top middle section. They read ‘28‘. He clutched the crumpled paper in his right hand, like it was his last slither of hope, that maybe somehow, if he held it hard enough, he’d squeeze out all of his bad luck and transfer it to the paper. He knew that wasn’t true of course. All just superstition, but it seemed to Eren that the events that led him to this moment were all too coincidental, so perhaps a bit of superstition was what was at play. Eren ran these particular events through his head one last time before facing his potential employer.  
  
***  
  
Jean threw the rucksack towards Eren. “Just get out!” he screamed in Eren’s direction. It wasn’t uncommon for Eren and his ex-boyfriend, Jean, to argue, fall-out, disagree - whatever you want to call it - but this time it had escalated further than Eren thought it ever would. “Get out of my bloody sight. If you’re not out of this house within an hour, I will physically make sure that you pass through that door with flying colours!” Jean glared at Eren, with his intense Amber eyes flaring up like he was watching a bomb-fire. ‘This was the final straw’ Eren thought to himself. He was finally getting kicked out. “But where will I go?” Eren half yelled, half hissed. “I don’t care, just so long as you’re not here!” Eren wasn’t the slightest bit upset, just angry, a sure fire sign that their relationship probably meant nothing to him. Eren was more disappointed about the fact that he no longer had a house to stay in, rather than the fact that him and his long term boyfriend had just ended whatever affair they were in. Eren grabbed the bag and stormed to ‘Jean’s’ room, in order to stuff his bag with meaningless shit.  
  
It took Eren just about fifteen minutes to pack his essentials, before he continued down the stairs. He wanted to show Jean that he wasn’t bothered about the current situation he was in, he wanted to bug Jean, get under his skin. Eren swaggered down the steps, rucksack thrown lazily over one shoulder and head held high with strength. When he reached the bottom of the stairs, Eren flashed Jean a quick look. Jean’s ash blonde hair was pushed back, completely out of his face, his arms were crossed defensively across his chest and he was leaning back against the wall, trying to look casual, but Eren could see that every muscle in his body had gone stiff. Eren searched his eyes, seeing nothing but hurt. He smirked, a half smile playing across his lips, causing Jean to click his tongue and look towards his left, avoiding any sort of eye contact. “Well, if you want to find me, I’ll be on the streets.” Eren snickered, throwing his hand in the air, as an act of retaliation, before walking calmly towards the door, exiting it with confidence.  
  
As soon as Eren had shut the door, however, the smile was wiped of his face, the moment where the reality of everything had set in. The dark streets were lit only by the flickering street lights, that did nothing but keep the shadows at bay. Eren honestly had no where to go. His body felt weak and heavy, the idea of sleeping rough shaking him. He let his feet drag, walking to wherever he decided. Eren wasn’t completely sure where he was going yet, but he needed to think, and a slow walk through the moonlight might help him to clear his head. Eren had been living with Jean for three years. The reason being that three years ago, Eren’s parents were killed in a car crash - that’s what he was told anyway. He never quite believed that was the cause of their death. Eren always thought that the details he was given about his parents’ death were too vague. He was told that they died in a car crash, and what day they died, but many questions were left unanswered; how did they crash, what were their injuries, what hospital were they treated at, what time was their death, and, most importantly to Eren, why couldn’t he see his parents before they were buried? Eren was 18 at the time, and even at that point, he immediately knew that there was something wrong about their supposed ‘deaths’.  
  
Non-the-less, Eren was told he had to move - for what reason, he didn’t know - meaning that he had to leave his two closest friends behind, Mikasa Ackerman and Armin Arlert. When he moved, he didn’t have enough money to afford his own place, so he moved in with someone that he got to know through a mutual friend. That person being Jean Kirstein. They lived in the same house for three years, so yeah, things were bound to happen, and they did. But saying that, Eren and Jean had never really got on, so Eren should’ve seen this coming a mile off, however, he didn’t.  
  
It occurred to Eren that he needed to find himself a job, desperately, especially if he wanted to get out of spending endless nights sleeping inder the stars - or he would be if it weren’t for all the light pollution. Eren flicked his watch towards him, and saw that the time was nine-sixteen, meaning that the library would be open for another forty-four minutes. ‘Just my luck’ Eren thought. Hardly anyone goes to the library at this time of night, so Eren would probably be able to snag half an hour on a computer so ancient it might as well have been buried with the Pharaohs. On the walk towards the library, he thought about qualities that an employer may like in him. Eren was not exactly an over-achiever, he was one of those kids he was good at everything, rather than amazing at a couple of things, an not-so-amazing at other things. In the working world, that was called flexibility, which, from his PSHE lessons in school, Eren knew was pretty highly ranked skill when it came to working. He hoped that this skill meant that he could apply for a load of jobs, and get at least a couple of replys, but in this day and age, it’s difficult for even people with PhD’s to get a half decent job, let alone Eren, who decided to go no further than College.  
  
Eren eventually reached the crystal clear glass sliding doors, that towered over Eren whilst marking the entrance of the library. Light flooded through the windows, and in Eren’s current circumstances, the gateway almost seemed to him like the gates of heaven would to a Religious believer. Eren took another step forward, and the doors parted for him, sensing his presence. Sulking through the doors, he made his way towards the librarian’s desk. Sat behind the desk was a patient looking lady, clearly engrossed in a book. Eren hastily scanned the room, noticing that there were fewer than ten people, and relaxed a little. The lady behind the dek couldn’t have been any older than Eren. She had long flowing blonde hair and large blue eyes that complimented her naturally kind-looking face. She had a name badge that read ‘Historia Reiss’. Historia looked so peaceful reading her book, her gaze soft, her blue eyes flicking from right to left with such swift speed that she made reading a book look like an art.  
  
Eren felt rude to disrupt her. He coughed a little before attempting to converse. “A-hem, umm, could I book a half an hour slot with a computer, please?” Historia raised her head, a look of shock spreading across her face, but she shortly composed herself, and smiled so as not to alarm Eren. At first she gave Eren an odd look but then her smile seemed to lighten the room up more than the two dozen energy efficient light bulbs could. Eren thought that this was probably because he had two different coloured eyes. One amber, one emerald green. He knew it was strange, and lots of people gave him funny looks about it, but the librarian looked pleasant, and got over her confusion in a split second. “Ah, yes, sorry sir.” She gracefully placed her flower-themed bookmark in between the two pages that she was reading. “All the computers, bar one, are free, so that will be fifty pence.” Eren thrust a hand into his back, fishing around for some spare change, eventually finding two twenty pences and one ten pence. He moved his enclosed fist over the top of Historia’s upwards facing open palm, an released the coins directly into her hand. She continued to smile whilst handing him a card that had the log in details for the computer number six. “Thank you.” Eren grinned whilst staring down at the card, like it was going to unlock all his possibilities, this was literal the key to his success - and by success he meant a job.  
  
Eren lifted the chair out of it’s place in order to avoid breaking the silence that was lingering in the air, and left a small gap between the front two legs of the chair and where the desk started. He gently lowered himself into the chair, kicking his back underneath his feet, and began to type in the appropriate letter-word combinations, glancing back and forth between the card he was given and the computer screen. Eren tapped his fingers impatiently on the battered wooden desk, waiting for the thin blue block to slowly fill up the thin grey block. Eren traced his forefinger over a love heart that had clearly been carved into the wood a couple of years ago, the name ‘Ymir’ written inside of it. Eren liked to think that this was a hope at some Secondary school romance, but didn’t think too much of it, because as soon as he started to wonder the computer beeped at him, making him aware of the fact that it finally decided to do it’s job, and log on. Eren flicked through the internet options on the windows bar, and noticed that the only available option was Internet Explorer. Snail’s pace it was then. After the tab had fully loaded, he typed in ‘www.indeed.co.uk’ into the search bar towards the top of the screen, hoping that the loading of this single website wouldn’t take up all the time by itself. Surprisingly enough it didn’t take long for the screen to illuminate once more, displaying links upon links, and search boxes upon search boxes of job options.  
  
Eren typed in his local area, the buttons creating little tapping noises that halted the tranquility of the room, in the process. Not that anyone really noticed, the peace in the room was calming rather than intense, it appeared that the majority of the people here are just here to chill and relax after a long day probably. Eren speedily ran his finger over the center of the mouse, causing the website to flick upwards, displaying more potential jobs for Eren to view. He tried to get through the pages as quickly as possible, making the most of his time, looking out for something that might catch his eye. After about fifteen minutes of endless scrolling, Eren twitched, an alarm going off in his brain. His finger froze, mid scroll, and he squinted at the screen, his tiredness causing his eyesight to go fuzzy.The words moved around the screen, but he just about made out the job description. ‘Hiring someone to do what I need when I need - Pays well - Potentially dangerous’, this made Eren think. ‘what I need when I need’, surely that would require someone with a wide variety of skill. Eren clicked on the option that proposed he ‘Read More’. Upon reading more, Eren found out that he was exactly what this person needed, someone who has the potential to fill out many different possibilities. Not only that, but this person works for the government, giving Eren the idea that if he does in fact get this job, he could have the authority, as well as the resources, to find out what really happened to his parents. It was too perfect to pass up. Eren grabbed a piece of paper from the printer, tore it in half, scribbling down this person’s adress. Apparently they were having an ‘Auditions Day’ the very next day, where you were invited to go to the address and have an interview - or along those lines, anyway. ‘28 Titan Road, Wall Sina’ Eren said in his head whilst writing it down.  
  
Throwing the paper into his back pocket, Eren logged off the computer, and went to go and hand the blonde librarian back her computer card. “Thank you miss.” Yet again, she had her nose in her book, but Eren just smiled this time, waiting for her to reach a point in which it was okay for her to stop. She brought her nose up, and took the card, gently, from Eren’s hand. “No problem.” Starting to turn around, Eren remembered something, and thought it ought to be right to tell Historia it. “Oh, just so you know, someone’s graffiti-ed on the table of computer number six. I don’t know how you guys feel about that, but I just thought you should know. It’s a love heart with the name ‘Ymir’ in it, I think.” Historia’s face flushed a dark shade of red, and something clicked in the back of his mind. “Oh.” He said, a twinkle forming in his eye. “Secondary school, love, huh?” Eren figured that it was probably the sweet librarian who had carved that name into the table, taking into consideration the colour that she was going. She nodded her head frantically in response, hiding her face behind her book. “Don’t worry, I won’t tell.” Eren grinned, waving before leaving through the same doors in which he came through.  
  
As soon as he stepped outside, Eren was hit with a cool breeze, which sent a shiver through his spine and a flush through his cheeks. His paused to think about where he was going to spend his first homeless night. Eren’s area was a relatively quite place during the daytime, so during the nighttime it was practically deserted. It was nice though, the moon shone brightly over the entire city, giving each building a thin silver lining, making the landscape look more like an illusion of lines and shadows, more than large cement blocks clumped together to form a living space. On a more serious note, Eren really was going to have to find somewhere to stay for the night. He figured that he had just about enough money to stay in a cheap hotel for a couple of nights, it was better than nothing. He didn’t have to follow the street lamps far before making it to a very run-down looking motel. A neon sign fluttered above a seemingly small, yellowing building. The neon letters spelled out the words ‘Humanity’s Hotel’. Eren seriously hoped that this wasn’t humanity’s Hotel, because otherwise humanity would be screwed, looking at the state of the accommodation that stood in front of him.  
  
Booking a single room for thirty-five pounds a night felt too good to be true for Eren, which probably meant that the bedroom was going to horrendous quality. Entering the room, Eren did not stand corrected, although he wished he had. The room couldn’t have been much bigger than the toilets in the library. Mold was crawling up the peeling wallpaper, that looked to be originally a marigold yellow. There was one small wardrobe squeezed between the bed and the wall, the wood in a not-so-good condition. It looked beaten up and bettered. The smell was rancid. It was almost indescribable, but what wafted up Eren’s nostrils was a smell so sickening that it made him want to vomit. And then there was the bed. The sheets hadn’t been washed in days, Eren could tell because marking the off-white sheets were brown, white and yellow substances. In an attempt to make amends, Eren stripped the bed of everything unholy, and spread out the compact sleeping bag that he had brought with him in his rucksack. He then proceeded to grab a single tissue from the pack that he had brought with him, because the only available toilets were the communal toilets, and Eren refused to go in those, most-likely unsanitary, cubicles without wearing a protective body suit first. Luckily the tissues Eren had brought with him were Olbas Oil scented, so he tore the tissue half, shoving each half into each nostril. Eren breathed a long sigh of relief, as the wretched smell left his being.  
  
Tucking himself in his padded sleeping bag, Eren waited for the blissful sleep to overcome him, taking him in it’s wake. However, before sleeping, Eren took a moment to consider how the next day might pan out. He was nervous, that’s for sure. This seemed like his perfect job, if he messed it up, he’d probably mess up any chance of him redeeming himself, but, he tried not to think about it too much. It took a while for Eren to get over the position that he was in, but once it slipped his mind, he was able to fall into unconsciousness, letting sleep take away all worry that he might have about his future.  
  
***  
  
The morning did not take Eren by surprise. His natural body clock was going off, around about the time the morning sunlight began to creep into his room, shedding light on all the unruly features about the thirty-five pound room. Checking his watch, Eren saw that it was six o’clock, meaning that he had three hours until he needed to be at the employer’s address. That was enough time. Eren hauled himself out of bed, changing his clothes into something that looked a bit smarter than a pair of jogging bottoms and a baggy hoody. He out on a pair of clean black trousers, and a nicely fitted white t-shirt, tucking the key that hung around his neck underneath the top, bringing back floods of memories.  
  
It always used to bring back a specific nursery rhyme that his mother would sing to him before tucking him into bed. If his memory served him correctly, it went something along the lines of; ‘Where the dragon hides, What lies behind his eye, Is a secret that remains untold, And a myth that holds the world’. It was short but sweet. Eren never really understood it, but it was one of the memories that he held dear, just like the key, which was the only item he was given after his parents’ crash. It accompanied a piece of newspaper, with his mother’s handwriting on it. What was written on it was pointless because it was completely out of context, but he still kept it, for the sake of his sanity.  
  
Once Eren was ready, he packed all his things in his bag. Technically he still had this room for the rest of the day, but he didn’t trust the hotel enough to leave his stuff in the room, so instead he left with everything he came in with, starting the trek towards the address that he had in his back pocket. It didn’t take him long to find the general direction in which he was going in. Yes, he had to ask a couple of strangers, but he soon got on track. It took Eren around two hours to walk the six miles, that was required to walk to get to this damned place. By the time Eren had reached the right street his legs were aching, dragging behind him and his back was sore, causing him to slouch, but he quickly regained his posture when he spotted the house number twenty-four, plastered on the front of the door to his right. Eren had a look around at the houses whilst walking towards number twenty-eight. All the houses appeared very expensive and very posh. Every single door was immaculate. Each building was in a modern style, large and block-like with huge clear glass windows exposing large living rooms with leather sofa’s and flash sports cars with their fancy brands. Eren gazed in aw at all the elegant housing, having never seen so many in one area before. That’s when he spotted it. The number twenty-eight, right there in front of him.  
  
***  
  
And that’s how he got here. Waiting in anticipation for his dream employer to swing open the door, and within a couple of seconds, that’s exactly what he did. But Eren was shocked to see who was behind the door when his brain had enough time to register the stern eyes glaring up at him.


	2. Jack of All Trades

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Eren's dream job arrives with competition, but he doesn't let it phase him, especially now that he's seen his potential employer - who makes a proposition that's hard for any sane man to turn down-. Eren's luck seems to just begin.

The man who stood boldly in front of Eren couldn't have been any older than Eren himself. His arms were crossed against his well-built chest, but this time, not defensively, more offensively. His height was not something particularly impressive, either. He looked around five-two high, and Eren was five-seven, meaning that, rather embarrassingly, Eren soared over him, but the young man wasn’t going to let this small hiccough dampen his authority. He had thick blonde hair that was parted in the center, no longer than the top of his ears, and from just above his ear downwards, it was all shaved. He was wearing a fitted black suit, with his white collar folded over the top, not a crease in sight. His piercing blue eyes burned straight through Eren’s skull and into his brain - that’s what it felt like, anyway. To Eren, this man looked in no way like he could work for the government, but instead like he should be going to university getting a course in something to do with the government. Something scratched the surface of Eren’s brain. This guy was very attractive despite his stern facial expression. Eren felt a blush run up his neck, but he made sure to quickly compose himself. If this was the guy from the website, he wanted to make a good impression, and that meant no stuttering. “Here for the interview?” The shorter man growled, a threatening shadow forming over his eyes.  
  
“Yes, sir.” Eren replied, subconsciously smoothing out his attire, trying to keep eye contact at all costs. Retaining a sturdy look proved to be more than difficult when the recipient could do nothing but make you feel exposed. Though, looking weak right now was not what he needed for this kind of thing, so Eren tried his hardest to not remove his stare from the ice blue gems. “Last name.” The man commanded.  
  
“Jaeger.”  
  
“You’re early.” This took Eren by surprise. Interviewers were not normally quite so straight-forward and blunt. It took Eren a couple of seconds to regain himself, and he secretly hoped that blondie didn’t notice. “Ah yes, I apologise, would you like me to wait outside, sir?” Eren humbly spoke. Smirking in reply, some of the tension between the two men was relieved. “No, come inside, sit down. Not many will arrive for this position, so I doubt you’ll see any others. My name is Levi Ackerman. Inside, you’ll see my colleague, Erwin Smith. We will both be assessing you.” Levi held out an open palm, inviting Eren to shake hands with him, in which he complied, a little too quickly, causing Levi to raise an eyebrow. However, aside from a sneaky smirk and a speedy eyebrow raise, the man did not give any sign of any sort of emotion that he may be feeling, his eyes remaining glazed over the entire time.  
  
Levi led him inside, where Eren was shown an imposing, unsoiled, high-ceiling sitting room that continued into an open walled kitchen. The complete left wall consisted of spotless glass that presented the cliff top, suspended over a calming blue sea, matching the colours of Levi’s eyes. All the walls were white, bringing further light into the room, the floor a shade of black, striking against the white. Over to the immediate right were a set of glass steps leading to a second floor, and behind the steps was the kitchen, a similar colour scheme to the living room. Towards the left-hand side of the room, closer to the glass wall, sat two leather sofas that could fit three people on, each, both facing inwardly. In between the sofas, there was a glass table with a coffee mug perched on top of a white coaster.  
  
A man taller than both Eren and Levi swiftly glided out of the kitchen with a glass of water in his hand, dressed in a similar outfit to Levi, but it didn’t look quite so dashing on him. This must be Erwin Smith. Erwin looked around his mid-thirties, much older than Levi. He smiled pleasantly, in Eren’s direction, whilst all three of the men walked towards the leather sofas. “A candidate already, we must be doing something right.” Erwin laughed, handing Eren the glass of water, Levi scowling at Erwin, whilst making himself comfortable on the sofa, next to him. Eren sat on the sofa opposite, accepting the drink as well as the hand that Erwin offered. “I’m Erwin Smith, but I assume Levi already told you this, Mr-”  
  
“Jaeger, sir. And yes, he did.” Eren nodded enthusiastically.  
  
“Good, good. You should excuse him, Levi is a very - how should I put it - introverted character. He will, however, be your employer, I’m just here to help with the selection process.” Levi shifted his wrath towards Eren for a split-second, waiting intently for his reply. Eren felt as if he was being interrogated. “That’s absolutely fine, sir.” Eren said, almost holding his breath in anticipation to Levi’s reaction. What was it about this man that made Eren so anxious, he almost felt as if he recognised him from somewhere. Levi responded with a shift in position, easing his serious expression, some-what.  
  
“Well in that case, I believe it’s time to continue with the interview, Levi?” Levi lent forwards, positioning his elbows on his knees, focusing himself completely and utterly on Eren, making him feel as if he was the only person in the room. “We’ll start it off easy, I suppose. Age?” And with that, Levi started firing the questions at Eren like there was no tomorrow, and how Eren managed to keep his cool, he didn’t know, but he did.  
  
“Twenty-one.”  
  
“Sex?”  
  
“Male.”  
  
“Sexuality?” Eren paused for a second, a little uneasy with the personal question, but felt that he needed to get over it if he wanted this job. “Gay.” Levi didn’t stop for a second thought.  
  
“Adress?”  
  
“Homeless.” Eren blurted, and immediately regretted it because Levi slowly turned his head towards Erwin, a slight crease forming between his eyebrows. Eren was about to try and explain, yet was instantly cut off as Levi swung his head back towards Eren. “Height?”  
  
“Uh, one-hundred-and-seventy centimeters.” Eren said, caught off guard.  
  
“Are those your real eye colours?”  
  
“Yes.”  
  
“GCSE results?”  
  
“Straight B’s.” The questions continued like this, until Levi eventually got to the nitty gritty questions, asking things along the lines of what Eren would do if he where to choose between risking the life of one person he loved or five innocent civilians. All of which he stumbled on, but eventually answered with confidence and proper clarification. When the word ‘finally’ popped up, Eren almost melted into his seat, he was so pleased. “Finally, you realise that if you take this job, you will regularly be putting your life at risk? We can’t really tell you what the job is yet, unless you successfully get it, but it will require a strong nerve.” This time, there was no stern look in Levi’s eyes, he was just straight up looking directly into Eren’s eyes, from one man to another, seeding Eren’s nerves again. He wanted to reply with complete and utter honesty. Eren had nothing to lose, his parents were dead, his friends were the other side of the country and he had nowhere to live or stay. His whole being was part of this, it’s what he needed, and what he wanted. “Yes... sir.” Eren stared directly back at Levi, showing no signs of hesitation whatsoever. Levi appeared to relax, and lent back in his seat with a heavy sigh. “You did well, kid, nice going.” Levi said. The ‘kid’ bit sparked a few questions, but Eren thought nothing of it.  
  
Three other participants had arrived at nine - much to Eren’s frustration - and Eren was encouraged to wait in the kitchen, until the interviews were over. Apparently each person would find out immediately if they had been hired or not. It was a matter of urgency, it seemed. Eren supposed that he would be sat on this particular black, plastic chair for a couple of hours, since his own evaluation had taken a little over half an hour. Eren yanked his rucksack from the depths beneath his chair, and flung his arm inside, pawing around the edges in a desperate search for his phone that didn’t belong in this century. Consequent to finding his phone, Eren had a search through his messages. Nothing from Jean since the last time they had conversed over text - whatever. Eren didn’t need to deal with Jean’s shit anymore, and as a matter of fact, he didn't want to. Eren was on a pay-as-you-go thing, which meant at this point in time, Eren had no signal, no credit and no data.  
  
He did, however, had something that didn’t require any of these, but would keep him entertained for hours. Two-D platformer games. He watched the screen intensely, keeping a close eye on any potential dangers there may be towards his character, and one ear open for the answers that the potential recruits were giving. The black stick figure galloped over a gap in the grounds part of the map as Eren eavesdropped the conversation Levi and the current newcomer were having. It almost sounded like the newcomer had anticipated these questions, the way he answered them, they didn’t seem genuine, more like they were planned. There were no pauses to think or hesitations, just Yes/No/This or That. The thing was, the questions that Levi was asking required thought, anyone with a conscience would need to think about these things before they answered them. In any case, Eren sustained his winning streak on a platformer game until he was interrupted by the noise of metal scraping along plastic, causing him to jump slightly. Eren watched, pitifully, as his character jumped into a pit of fire, ending his game, abruptly.  
  
When he looked up Erwin was leading a woman out, who was dressed rather smartly, and showed her the exit in a polite and forgiving manor. The other two followed suit, ‘till it was just Eren left sat by himself in a deserted kitchen. He put his phone back in his bag and swung it over his shoulder, predicting that Erwin would be back for him anytime. Eren wondered to himself which of the candidates had got the placement. Eren strode out of the kitchen, when a firm hand grabbed him by the shoulder, stopping him in his tracks. “Where do you think you’re going?” Erwin’s deep voice reaching Eren’s eardrums so soothingly, he panicked that Erwin might be up to something. “Oh, I was just going to show myself out.” Eren turned to face Erwin, and Erwin released him from his grasp. He grinned looking towards Levi. “I think Levi has a proposition for you first.” What? What was Erwin on about? Levi walked slowly towards the two men, eyes locked on Eren the whole time. “Given your current situation, Jaeger, I wanted to offer you a room at my house.” Levi opened his arms, gesturing to the inside of the house. Eren was astonished at this sudden advancement, particularly as he had done nothing to deserve it. “Thank you, sir, but I, um, if you don’t mind me saying, I don’t understand why you are offering me this?” Levi just smirked, for a second time, sending warm waves throughout Eren’s body.  
  
“Well, I can’t have my employees being homeless, now, can I?” If the previous statement had shaken Eren into astonishment, this one definitely had. “What, I got the job?! But how? Everyone else was so smart, and posh, and knew what to s-”  
  
“Exactly. You were what I was looking for, Eren. Someone who could make up their mind after I’d asked the question, not before. Someone who didn’t have the answers and education beaten into them. Someone who was wholeheartedly willing to put their life at risk.” Eren was at a loss of words, but something at the back of his mind was irritating him and he couldn’t quite put his finger on it. Levi looked at Eren, expecting a response. “Well, if it’s okay, I will accept your offer, sir.”  
  
“Brilliant, sit down on the sofa, Erwin and I have a few things we need to explain about ourselves.” Erwin placed a palm between Eren’s shoulder blades, aware of the confusion spreading across his face. “Don’t worry, Mr Jaeger, Levi and I are just going to tell you a little bit about our backgrounds, and then Levi’s going to give you the details of your job statement. Clear enough for you?” Eren nodded his head, still a little shaken by the previous events. The three of them got into the same spots they were when Eren was being interviewed, however, this time, it was a lot more informal.  
  
“Okay.” Erwin said, breaking the ice. “I’m going to start off by giving you some facts about myself. First off, I’m a spy and I work for the current government.” That’s when Eren realised why all of this was so hush, hush. Eren knew that being a spy wasn’t exactly clean, and by clean he meant it was seriously messy business if the wrong information about this occupation got into the wrong hands. “I have been a spy for ten years now, I joined when I was twenty-two. I had one father, who has recently deceased, and no siblings. I’ve been on two-thousand, eight-hundred and forty-nine mission so far, with a eighty-seven percent success rate. That’s all I care to tell you as of now, but I’m sure as the months pass, we will get to know each other further.” Eren remained in a state of paralysis. Eighty-seven percent success rate? That was insane. Whilst Eren was still gobsmacked over the statistics that Erwin had presented himself with, Levi raked a hand through his slick, blonde hair, threw his head back and let out a long breath. “I am also a spy, I have been for nine years, I joined when I was twenty-five.” Eren immediately involuntarily inhaled, his eyes flooding like he had just been sprayed in the eyes with pepper spray.  
  
“What?!” Eren yelped, unable to keep the disbelief out of his voice. Registering what he had just done, Eren clapped his hands over his mouth, in a desperate plea for him to keep quite. “No, no, it’s okay, Jaeger. I am aware that I have a younger looking face, although I find that this kind of thing is useful for being a spy.”  
  
“Oh, uh, sorry, sir. I did just expect you to be, well... younger.”  
  
“I guess you learn something new everyday.” Levi said, unaffected by Eren’s misfortune. “I have no immediate family, and I have been on five-thousand-four-hundred and seventy-two missions, with a ninety-four percent success rate, currently ranking as the top success rate.” ‘That’s a lot of successful missions’ Eren thought to himself. “Jobs that I will require you to do will vary. For example, one mission may require you to act as someone else, another may require you to use physical violence whereas another may require you to figure out a specific type of coding. All of which you should be capable of, Jaeger, as you are - as they say - the jack of all trades, master of none. We can change that, though.” Levi pronounced, a glint in his eye.  
  
After that, the three men talked among themselves for a couple of hours before Erwin had businness to attend to. Eren could’ve sworn that he felt a click between himself and the two, maybe this feeling concerned Levi a bit more, but nevertheless, Eren felt as if he belonged here, in this profession, with these people. It was something he had never felt before, like his heart was tied to a string that was connected to everything that surrounded him. If he tried to leave, his heart would just be gone, leaving Eren empty and pointless. Eren felt happy for the first time in three years, and now that he had a taste of it, he wanted to finish the meal.  
  
When Erwin had left, Levi thought it would be fitting for Eren to see his room. “So once you reach the top of the stairs, you come up to a dead end, just do a one-hundred and eighty degree turn. You’ll see a long corridor with four doors along the right hand side. Yours will be the second one, got that?” Eren still couldn’t quite believe that this was happening. “Yes, sir, and, again, thank you very much.”  
  
“Tsch, just shut up about it, you’ve said thank you too much already.”  
  
“Sorry.” Eren started to walk up the stairs, delicately due to the fact that he wasn’t used to such ‘precious’ steps, them being glass and all. He was interrupted halfway through. “Oh, Eren?” Levi said, turning back to face Eren, before entering the mahogany door that was placed behind the sitting room. “Yes, sir.”  
  
“Kiss me.”  
  
“Huh, what?” Eren coughed, stumbling over a step behind him, another blush crawling up his neck. Levi grinned from ear to ear. “Kissimmee. I suggest you do some research on it. You’re going to pretend to be a Kissimmee local in a couple of days.” Levi spoke, his grin getting wider. Eren knew perfectly well that Levi was aware of what Eren had thought he had said, and there was nothing he could do about it. Levi looked like he was refraining from laughing, his ‘tease’ getting to Eren in every way possible. Not that Eren would have minded kissing him. Just as Eren had managed to decompress himself, that irritation came back that he had felt before. After a second or two of thought, it hit Eren like a sack of bricks. Right before Levi placed a hand on the doorknob, Eren called out his name. “Mr Ackerman.”  
  
“Yes, Jaeger.”  
  
“I never told you my first name.” Levi straightway froze, his hand firmly on the doorknob. Eren couldn’t see his face, so wasn’t sure what he was thinking, but it seemed to Eren that Levi was hesitating for the first time. Eren then saw Levi relax against the door handle, supporting his suspicion. “Ah, it’s just to show you what you’re getting yourself into, Jaeger. We’re capable of more than you expect.” And with that Levi calmly entered his office, closing the door with the up-most self-control that Eren had ever seen. ‘That was odd’ Eren thought to himself, and stored it in the back of his mind.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys. Just a note for the people who think that they're going to continue reading 'Oppression' as I publish more chapters (thank you very much, by the way ^_^). Do you guys want this to be more of a fluff fanfiction, or, y'know, the other type ;)? Just comment what type of fanfic you prefer, and I'll probably go with the overall majority (probably being the important word here xD). Also, thank you again for the kudos, comments and hits, I really appreciate it :3.
> 
> P.S, I may not be active for a week or so, due to National Citizen Service, please don't hate me :p


	3. Bonding

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Eren learns that Levi is a far more complex character than he had expected him to be, but could this all lead to something? Levi slowly learns more about Eren, but to no avail, apparently.

Eren wasn’t surprised to see that his room was ultra-clean, just like the rest of the house. Levi’s abode was so clean Eren could compare it to the rooms in which adverts for cleaning products were filmed - and half the time, those rooms were sets. The room wasn’t exactly large, but it definitely wasn’t small either. It was bright, unlike the hotel room Eren had stayed in the previous night. This was due to the huge window placed opposite the door and the fact that the room was pretty much entirely white. How did this guy keep everything so clean? In the center of the room, with the headboard pushed against the wall, was a queen sized double bed. Eren was now officially an owner of a white, queen sized, thick mattress-ed bed. Eren thought about the immense amount of sleeping he’d like to get done in the bed, because he as sure as anything needed sleep right now.

Eren came to the conclusion that Levi was going to be in his office for a while, so he took it upon himself to get changed into his pajamas and have a well deserved nap. Sure, it was only two-forty but it’s not exactly as if Eren had been getting the best nights sleep, recently. On multiple occasions, when Eren was staying with Jean, he’d be forced to sleep on the couch, or the floor, or just anywhere that wasn’t in a bed with Jean, because of their regular falling-outs.

As Eren closed his eyes, darkness swept over him, however, images of his new employee remained stained on his eyelids. Crisp and clear pictures of his slightly knotted blonde hair and his constantly searching blue eyes. But what was Levi searching for exactly? Eren could’ve sworn he’d seen Levi before, but he couldn’t quite think of where or when. Eren let himself mull over his thoughts as the replica of Levi slowly began to fade alongside Eren’s consciousnesses. It didn’t take long for Eren to lose track of what he was thinking of as his body relaxed and sleep took over. 

***

Eren woke gently from his slumber, but was still rather surprised, due to the fact that he had not naturally woken. Eren could feel a figure looming over him, and tore his eyelids open with great effort to see eyes of indigo hovering a few feet above his face. Eren attempted to squeal, but only his horrifyingly deep, and totally un-sexy, morning voice managed to force it’s way out of his throat. Eren yanked his covers up to cover his abdomen, a little ashamed of his body. Eren had never quite been as built as the people around him, and boy, did that give him self-confidence issues. Eren ran a hand, uneasily through his hair waiting for Levi to say something and break the silence. 

Levi took his time to slowly recoil away from Eren’s face further until he was standing with his back straight, giving Eren the opportunity to see what Levi was carrying. Eren had to squint his eyes slightly as it had already started to get dark, and the light appeared to be nowhere in sight. Eren was taken aback to see that Levi was holding a tray full of varied foods. “I thought that you might be a bit hungry considering you didn’t eat lunch, you slept through dinner, and you were homeless during breakfast.” Levi remained deadly still, his hands delicately placed underneath the tray, and his eyes fixed on Eren’s. Eren noticed that Levi had changed out of his suit and tie, leaving him dressed in the bare minimum. Socks, black tailored trousers and a blouse that was rolled up to his elbows. Eren had time to notice that Levi’s left arm was covered in tattoos. From what Eren could make out, they were each individually pieced tattoos, all weaved into one sleeve. Eren swooned, ever so slightly, causing the room to spin. Eren wasn’t usually a fan of tattoos, but on Levi they looked just so... right. “Oh - uh, thank you, sir.” Eren attempted to smile, but felt as though it probably looked more like he was in pain since he was struggling to keep himself civilised. Eren waited for Levi to put the tray down on the bedside table and leave, so that Eren could sit up - he didn’t want Levi of all people seeing his body-. 

But to Eren’s disapproval, this did not happen. Instead, Levi awaited Eren’s response. “Are you not going to sit up?” Levi questioned, confusion creeping into his voice.

“Well, I - uh - I would rather get dressed first.” Levi clicked his tongue, and moved towards Eren. Eren all of a sudden became very flustered as Levi grabbed Eren’s arm in a firm hold with his tattooed limb, and pulled him into a sitting position, causing the blankets to gracefully fall from Eren’s body and onto his legs. Levi thrust the tray onto Eren’s lap and sat at the base of his bed, making the matress sink a little in retaliation to all the extra weight. Eren gaped at Levi for a short while, expecting him to make some sort of snarky remark about his figure, but nothing happened. Levi just leaned back on both arms and threw his head in Eren’s general direction. “Eren, I have a few things that I need to talk with you about, so I would prefer it if you would eat.” ‘Oh, right, the food’ Eren thought to himself as he gawked at the colourful foods. He cautiously picked up the fork, and immediately tucked into the food that his stomach had long been calling for. 

“So, as you’ve probably gathered, for missions it is required that you have alternative names so that if anything goes wrong, you can’t be tracked. You have two spy names, I only have one and then I use my original name. Now, your names will depend on what I refer to you as, because you will almost always be with me on missions. If I refer to you as my ‘colleague’, you will call yourself ‘Jade Day’. ‘Jade’ being a green stone, and 'Day’ supposedly meaning luck.” Upon saying this, Levi very gently leaned over to place a fingertip, tenderly on Eren’s left temple closer to his green eye. Eren froze, dropping his fork into his couscous, looking Levi dead in the eyes and seeing nothing but a sort of confusion that would suggest to Eren that Levi hadn’t done this before. “And if I refer to you as my ‘associate’, you should call yourself ‘Zerrin Day’. ‘Zerrin’ meaning golden, and ‘Day’ again because if someone notices both of your identities and think they both look similar, they can assume that both of your identities are related.” Levi placed another fingertip on Eren’s other temple, closest to his gold eye. Levi and Eren’s faces’ were mere inches away. Eren halted his breath, feeling slightly restless. He wasn’t exactly uncomfortable with this distance, but something about Levi’s tone of voice and the look in his eye made everything seem very intimate. 

Levi jolted backwards, almost as if he was aware of what Eren was thinking, and looked towards his feet, his tone of voice becoming strong and offensive once again. “As ‘Jade’ you will have to wear a green contact over your amber eye, and vice versa for ‘Zerrin’. Your alternate eyes are too obvious. Anyone could notice them rather easily and point fingers.” Eren let out a slow shaky breath, glad that he was able to contain himself during the close proximity. “Um, yes, of course, sir. One question, where can I get them from?” Eren’s morning voice began to wear off slightly, and he was glad for the bit of slack he was being given. Levi twisted his body to the side, reaching a steady hand into his pocket and pulling out a small white packet. “These should do you a couple of months, so just hit me up when you need refilling, okay?” Levi threw the packet carelessly towards Eren, and Eren speedily shot his hand out in front of his face, catching the package with confidence. Levi raised an eyebrow, but stood up, allowing the mattress to regain some of it’s bounce. He pulled the tray off Eren’s lap and effortlessly left the room, leaving nothing but a gust of his cologne, which was beginning to fade.

After Eren’s awkward encounter with his new employer, he checked the time, only to find out that it was seven, forty-four. He inevitably decided that his time could be spent on something productive before he went to bed for a second time in the day. Following this decision, Eren searched his wardrobe for a towel, which were conveniently located in that exact whereabouts. Eren already knew that the bathroom was at the end of the corridor, he had seen it through the ajar door during his endeavour to the bedroom. Eren spent a little longer in the shower than he had anticipated, but the day he had just gone through had been a strange and upside down one, so he thought that he needed time for everything to essentially sync in. Eren let the warm water cascade down his body whilst he thought through ways that he could attempt to find out more information about his parents death, without sabotaging his new job placement.

Eren spent some time researching the said ‘Kissimmee’ on the laptop that he had brought with him from Jean’s house, - it was rather awkward having to ask Levi for the WiFi password - and found out that it was a city in Florida, meaning that for whatever Levi had planned, Eren had to put on a convincing American accent. Although Eren knew from experience, that things like these are easily said than done. Eren thought that his research may have been meaningless if he didn’t know what the mission statement was. For all Eren knew, he could be impersonating a disabled refugee. Eren made his way towards the sitting room, leaving the comfort of his own room, to consult Levi about the forthcoming assignment. He had to careful as he stepped, his too long jogging bottom catching his toes, as he strode.

When Eren reached the bottom of the stairs, he couldn’t immediately see Levi. He thought for a second that he might be in his office, but then, something beyond the glass wall caught his eye. There was a trail of smoke, slithering between a newly found opening directly in the center of the over-sized window. Eren’s eyes followed the whisper of grey and white, to a dark silhouette hanging over the cliffs. It almost looked like this person was floating above the cliff. Slowly, Eren crept towards the source of the smoke, following the wake that had inched itself further and further into the house, tainting Eren’s perception, turning the white walls a murky gray. Extending his arm, Eren’s palm met the aperture. He curved his fingers around the opening, whispering Levi’s name, so as not to astonish him. “Levi?” Eren was slightly afraid to let his foot pass the boundary, being the indoors to the outdoors, as all he could see was a drop, nothing supporting the figure in front of him. 

“Yes, Eren? Please come forward if you wish to speak with me.” Cautiously, stepping through the screen of vapour, everything suddenly became clearer to Eren, and what manifested itself in front of him was a truly beautiful sight. The once light blue ocean had turned a powerful navy, that captured Eren’s trust within a single second. Murky white peaks formed where the calming waves pushed themselves against the rocky obstacles that prevented the sea from rushing all the way to the beach. The sky was an even darker shade of navy, so dark it was almost black, but rather than threatening, it was surprisingly pleasing to the senses. White specks as stars were splattered all around, like someone had just grabbed a paintbrush and flicked paint all over the airspace. 

And then there was Levi. His figure was delicate and slim, but if you spent longer looking at his shoulders, it was particularly obvious that he was more muscle than fat. Levi was both sides of the coin. Levi’s legs crossed at the ankles, lent against the barrier that surrounded the two, Eren realised that he was not hovering above the ocean, but was instead stood on a glass patio. Levi’s fair hair blew airily in the subtle wind, his t-shirt catching it too, and gathering behind him. Levi had since changed clothes, into something more comfortable, it seemed. Levi turned his head, the shadows slowly skimming across his face, and the moon highlighting his cheekbones giving his skin a tint of blue. All too quickly Levi’s youthful face was gazing questioningly at Eren. This man couldn’t look older than twenty-one if he tried. To Eren’s amazement, Levi’s features were rather soft, and Eren couldn’t tell whether it was the moonlight or whether it was the cigarette hanging loosely between Levi’s fingers which were draped lazily over the edge of the barrier. 

“Eren?” Levi’s voice was a little louder this time, but not shockingly so, still soothingly so. Eren was shaken out of his transfix-ion, and focused on his objective. Eren walked closer to Levi, and adopted a similar position against the railing, so that both the men were looking out to the point where the sea meet the sky. “Yes, sorry, sir. I was just wondering what specifically is our first mission.” Levi raised the filter tip to his lips, inhaled deeply then turned his head back in the direction of Eren, blowing out the smoke that so desperately poisoned his lungs. It sounded as though Levi was sighing, rather than releasing the smoke, but Eren would never say. “Well, we’ll be at a hospital searching for a man who’s been admitted there with severe burns. It will make it difficult to identify him but I reckon it would be rather easy to infiltrate the systems files given our identities this time around.”

“And those would be-”

“I’m going to be a local doctor coming to visit with our exchange nurse from Kissimmee, which, of course, will be you. You’ll be there pretending to be writing an article on how the American care differs from the UK care, and I will be your supervisor. However, I’ve got a few words around, here and there, and I’ve managed to get myself some freedom around the hospital, meaning that quite regularly we will be separated.”

“Am I allowed to ask you why we are looking for this man.” Levi glanced towards Eren, his blue eyes shaded.

“He used to work for the government, but recently there was a rumor about some important information concerning the government leaking. We don’t know what this information is, but conveniently, he disappeared a day after this rumor started to spread. We think he knows something, so we need to extract as much information as possible. The only reason that we were able to find him was because there had recently been an attack on an anti-government organisation, and he was one of the victims pulled from the wreckage. His name is Bertholdt Fubar. I feel rather sorry for the sod, he couldn’t have been any older than you, Eren.” Levi looked Eren in the eyes, and for a second, a wave of sympathy flooded Levi’s eyes. “Anyway, your objective will be to find Bertholdt and where they put his personal items, because we know for a fact, that he managed to just get away with pulling his stuff out of the wreckage, before he himself was pulled out. Once you find him, you come and tell me. I’ll deal with him.” The last sentence sent a cold chill through Eren’s spine. There was no emotion, no sense of hurt whatsoever. It was just complete business. “You’ll be going as Jade.” And with that, the conversation about government and anti-government had ended, without so much as a slither of worry or scare.

“So Eren, what makes you so willing to risk your life? I’m not talking on business terms now, I’m talking on acquaintance terms. Surely there’s a boyfriend or family or something that you are willing to live for.”

“Well, to be brutally honest, sir, my - uh - ex-boyfriend and I never really got on, and I have no immediate family.” Levi took in a sharp breath and looked in the opposite direction to Eren. It hit Eren that it must have hit home, since Levi also mentioned that he had no immediate family. “That must be hard for you. I’m sure your parents were good people.” Levi voicing genuine hurt.

“I mean yeah, it was and they were. But I doubt they died the way that I was told they died.” Levi hummed in response, and it came across to Eren that it was not really a subject that he wanted to touch on. “Well, if you don’t mind me, I’m going to go to my bedroom.” Levi span on his heel, throwing his cigarette to the ground, and furiously crushing it underneath his socked foot. “Goodnight Eren. I wish you a good night’s sleep.” Eren was left to consider his own thoughts as his superior decided to abruptly leave the conversation. Eren sighed, turning back towards the ocean. This man was way more complicated than anyone that Eren had ever meet before, and his heart might just be lost to this perplexing being.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this chapter had taken a while guys. I've been away from home for a couple of weeks doing National Citizen Service, so it's been busy, but thank you for sticking with me. I'm aware that this ia a rather uneventful chapter, but we've gotta get the boring stuff outta the way first ^_^
> 
> P.S Thanks for all the positive comments :3


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